System and method for sensing hydrogen charge state of fuel cell electric vehicle

ABSTRACT

A system and a method for sensing hydrogen charge state of a fuel cell electric vehicle are provided. The system includes an infrared transmission unit that transmits a fuel door sensing infrared signal for sensing a fuel door opened while charging hydrogen and a nozzle sensing infrared signal for sensing a charging station-side hydrogen charging nozzle connected to a hydrogen charging inlet of a vehicle. An infrared reception unit receives the fuel door sensing infrared signal and thereafter, reflected on a fuel door and the nozzle sensing infrared signal transmitted from the infrared transmission unit and thereafter, reflected on the hydrogen charging nozzle. A controller determines that the vehicle is being charged with hydrogen when sensing an open state of the fuel door and a hydrogen charging inlet connection state of the hydrogen charging nozzle.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims under 35 U.S.C. § 119(a) the benefit of KoreanPatent Application No. 10-2017-0132953 filed Oct. 13, 2017, the entirecontents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND (a) Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to a system and a method for sensing ahydrogen charge state of a fuel cell electric vehicle, and moreparticularly, to a system and a method for sensing a hydrogen chargestate that more accurately sense whether hydrogen is charged in a fuelcell electric vehicle.

(b) Background Art

In general, a fuel cell electric vehicle is a vehicle that uses a fuelcell stack as a main power source of a vehicle, and is driven by drivingan electric motor with electric energy generated in the fuel cell stack.The fuel cell stack electrochemically reacts hydrogen, which is fuel gassupplied by a hydrogen supply device including a hydrogen tank, withoxygen in the air, which is an oxidant gas supplied by an air supplydevice including a blower or a compressor to generate electric energy.

In the fuel cell electric vehicle, hydrogen is stored as fuel in a safeand compact manner. Various hydrogen storage technologies have beendeveloped to satisfy both an increase in a mileage of the vehicle andsafety. Among the various hydrogen storage technologies, it is common tocharge hydrogen in a hydrogen tank that has a light weight and a highstrength and is capable of withstanding high pressure and to secure ariding space and to secure a sufficient traveling distance, a hydrogentank is widely used, which is chargeable with hydrogen at high pressuresuch as a 350 bar or 700 bar specification.

As described above, since the fuel cell electric vehicle uses hydrogenas fuel, a hydrogen storage system for storing hydrogen needs to beinstalled and the high-pressure hydrogen storage system of 700 bar whichis highest at a current commercialization level is currently ofteninstalled. The fuel cell electric vehicle is periodically charged withhydrogen in a charging station and in this case, where the hydrogen ispressurized at a high pressure state to be charged in the hydrogen tankof the vehicle. In particular, in the 700-bar high-pressure hydrogenstorage system, the hydrogen pressure increases up to 875 bar and atemperature is allowed up to 85° C. while charging.

To secure the safety while hydrogen charging, a hydrogen charging speedneeds to be adjusted and accordingly, the charging station and thevehicle communicate with each other while charging in a key-off stateand data such as pressure or temperature in the hydrogen storage system,which is measured in the vehicle is provided to the charging station viaa communication therebetween. Particularly, although a wired or wirelesscommunication may be performed between the charging station and thevehicle, recently, an infrared ray communication established by SAEJ2799 which is a wireless communication protocol has been used.

While charging hydrogen, the starting of the vehicle is restricted toprotect a driver, a passenger, and a staff of the charging station andaccordingly, a technology for sensing a charging situation in thevehicle is required. More specifically, as a hydrogen storage techniqueof a currently commercial fuel cell electric vehicle, a high-pressurehydrogen storage is unique and high-pressure hydrogen is charged byusing differential pressure between the charging station and thehydrogen storage system of the vehicle.

To charge the hydrogen at the high pressure, a path is provided totransfer the high-pressure hydrogen between the charging station and thevehicle. During a charging process, a receptacle, which is a hydrogencharging inlet of the vehicle and a nozzle of the charging station arejoined to each other and when accurate joining is achieved, thehigh-pressure hydrogen flows to the hydrogen storage system of thevehicle from a dispenser of the charging station through a high-pressurehose, the nozzle, and the receptacle. In particular, when the vehiclerushes due to a malfunction by the driver or carelessness of the driver,the nozzle is broken or a connector between the high-pressure hose andthe vehicle is separated, resulting in a potential high-pressurehydrogen leak.

Accordingly, in the fuel cell electric vehicle, it is necessary toprevent such a danger by determining whether the hydrogen is currentlycharged in the vehicle, and then, limiting the starting of the vehiclewhen the hydrogen is charged and thus, a technology capable ofaccurately sensing whether the hydrogen is charged in the fuel cellelectric vehicle is required.

The above information disclosed in this section is merely forenhancement of understanding of the background of the invention andtherefore it may contain information that does not form the prior artthat is already known in this country to a person of ordinary skill inthe art.

SUMMARY

The present invention provides a system and a method for sensing ahydrogen charge state, which more accurately sense whether hydrogen ischarged in a fuel cell electric vehicle.

In one aspect, the present invention provides a system for sensing ahydrogen charge state of a fuel cell electric vehicle that may include:an infrared transmission unit configured to transmit a fuel door sensinginfrared signal to sense whether a fuel door is open while charginghydrogen and a nozzle sensing infrared signal to sense a chargingstation-side hydrogen charging nozzle connected to a hydrogen charginginlet of a vehicle; an infrared reception unit configured to receive thefuel door sensing infrared signal transmitted from the infraredtransmission unit and thereafter, reflected on a fuel door and thenozzle sensing infrared signal transmitted from the infraredtransmission unit and thereafter, reflected on the hydrogen chargingnozzle; and a controller configured to determine that the vehicle isbeing

charged with hydrogen in response to sensing an open state of the fueldoor and a hydrogen charging inlet connection state of the hydrogencharging nozzle through the infrared reception unit.

In another aspect, the present invention provides a method for sensing ahydrogen charge state of a fuel cell electric vehicle that may include:transmitting, by an infrared transmission unit, a fuel door sensinginfrared signal to sense whether a fuel door is open while charginghydrogen; transmitting, by the infrared transmission unit, a nozzlesensing infrared signal to sense a charging station-side hydrogencharging nozzle connected to a hydrogen charging inlet of a vehicle;receiving, by an infrared reception unit, an infrared signal; anddetermining, by a controller, that the vehicle is being charged withhydrogen in response to sensing an open state of the fuel door and ahydrogen charging inlet connection state of the hydrogen charging nozzlebased on the infrared signal received by the infrared reception unit.

As a result, a system and a method for sensing a hydrogen charge stateof a fuel cell electric vehicle according to the present invention maymore accurately sense that hydrogen is actually charged in the fuel cellelectric vehicle and prevent a safety problem due to rushing of avehicle while charging high-pressure hydrogen. According to the presentinvention, since a non-contact type sensing scheme using light is used,an exposition proof criterion may be fulfilled and an explosion proofrelated problem in charging the high-pressure hydrogen is easily solved.

In other words, it may be possible to implement non-contact type fueldoor opening and nozzle sensing functions for transmitting infrared raysand detecting whether hydrogen is charged from the received infraredrays. Therefore, spark generation which occurs when the contact typesensing system in the related art is used, and the resulting hydrogenignition and a risk of explosion may be prevented. However, in therelated art, only an opening state of a fuel door may be sensed by acontact type, but in the present invention, since a hydrogen chargingnozzle (a charging station-side nozzle) actually connected to a hydrogencharging inlet (receptacle) of a vehicle for charging hydrogen is sensedin addition to the fuel door, it may be possible to prevent a detectionerror when applying the non-contact type sensing scheme.

Since both the fuel door and the nozzle are sensed, it may be possibleto prevent starting and rushing of the vehicle when the nozzle of thecharging station is actually connected to the vehicle for charginghydrogen, not in a state where only the fuel door is opened and it maybe possible to prevent a malfunction and an unnecessary startinglimitation of the vehicle compared to a simple configuration of sensingonly opening of the fuel door. In other words, only when the hydrogen isactually charged while the nozzle of the charging station is connectedto the vehicle, the starting of the vehicle may be limited and therushing of the vehicle may be prevented.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other features of the present invention will now bedescribed in detail with reference to certain exemplary embodimentsthereof illustrated in the accompanying drawings which are givenhereinbelow by way of illustration only, and thus are not limitative ofthe present invention, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a system forsensing a hydrogen charge state according to an exemplary embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating infrared-ray transmitting and receivingstates in a system and a method for sensing a hydrogen charge stateaccording to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a method for sensing a hydrogencharge state according to an exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention; and

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating installation states of an infraredtransmission unit and an infrared reception unit in a system for sensinga hydrogen charge state according to an exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention.

Reference numerals set forth in the Drawings includes reference to thefollowing elements as further discussed below:

1: fuel door

2: hydrogen charging inlet

10: controller

20 a: infrared transmission unit

20 b: infrared reception unit

21: first transmitter

22: second transmitter

23: first receiver

24: second receiver

30: charging station receiver

It should be understood that the appended drawings are not necessarilyto scale, presenting a somewhat simplified representation of variousexemplary features illustrative of the basic principles of theinvention. The specific design features of the present invention asdisclosed herein, including, for example, specific dimensions,orientations, locations, and shapes will be determined in part by theparticular intended application and use environment. In the figures,reference numbers refer to the same or equivalent parts of the presentinvention throughout the several figures of the drawing.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

It is understood that the term “vehicle” or “vehicular” or other similarterm as used herein is inclusive of motor vehicles in general such aspassenger automobiles including sports utility vehicles (SUV), buses,trucks, various commercial vehicles, watercraft including a variety ofboats and ships, aircraft, and the like, and includes hybrid vehicles,electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, hydrogen-poweredvehicles and other alternative fuel vehicles (e.g. fuels derived fromresources other than petroleum). As referred to herein, a hybrid vehicleis a vehicle that has two or more sources of power, for example bothgasoline-powered and electric-powered vehicles.

Although exemplary embodiment is described as using a plurality of unitsto perform the exemplary process, it is understood that the exemplaryprocesses may also be performed by one or plurality of modules.Additionally, it is understood that the term controller/control unitrefers to a hardware device that includes a memory and a processor. Thememory is configured to store the modules and the processor isspecifically configured to execute said modules to perform one or moreprocesses which are described further below.

Furthermore, control logic of the present invention may be embodied asnon-transitory computer readable media on a computer readable mediumcontaining executable program instructions executed by a processor,controller/control unit or the like. Examples of the computer readablemediums include, but are not limited to, ROM, RAM, compact disc(CD)-ROMs, magnetic tapes, floppy disks, flash drives, smart cards andoptical data storage devices. The computer readable recording medium canalso be distributed in network coupled computer systems so that thecomputer readable media is stored and executed in a distributed fashion,e.g., by a telematics server or a Controller Area Network (CAN).

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. Asused herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended toinclude the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises”and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify thepresence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements,and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of oneor more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements,components, and/or groups thereof. As used herein, the term “and/or”includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associatedlisted items.

Unless specifically stated or obvious from context, as used herein, theterm “about” is understood as within a range of normal tolerance in theart, for example within 2 standard deviations of the mean. “About” canbe understood as within 10%, 9%, 8%, 7%, 6%, 5%, 4%, 3%, 2%, 1%, 0.5%,0.1%, 0.05%, or 0.01% of the stated value. Unless otherwise clear fromthe context, all numerical values provided herein are modified by theterm “about.”

Hereinafter, reference will now be made in detail to various exemplaryembodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustratedin the accompanying drawings and described below. While the inventionwill be described in conjunction with exemplary embodiments, it will beunderstood that present description is not intended to limit theinvention to those exemplary embodiments. On the contrary, the inventionis intended to cover not only the exemplary embodiments, but alsovarious alternatives, modifications, equivalents and other embodiments,which may be included within the spirit and scope of the invention asdefined by the appended claims.

The present invention has been made in an effort to provide a system anda method for sensing a hydrogen charge state, which more accuratelysense whether hydrogen is charged in a fuel cell electric vehicle. Inthe present invention, in response to sensing that the hydrogen chargingof a vehicle is performed, starting of a vehicle may be restricted frombeing turned on, and as a result, it may be possible to preventunintentional vehicle rushing during hydrogen charging and to prevent alife accident due to nozzle separation or damage while charging.

As is known, known infrared (IR) communication performed between thevehicle and the charging station during the hydrogen charging of thefuel cell electric vehicle aims at data communication for transmittingand receiving data required for hydrogen charging control for thevehicle. The known infrared (IR) communication performed between thefuel cell electric vehicle and the charging station is one-waycommunication in which data is transferred from the vehicle to thecharging station. To perform the hydrogen charging control for thevehicle, for example, the known infrared (IR) communication may beperformed for optimizing an increase in temperature in a hydrogenstorage system (hydrogen tank) of the vehicle, which occurs whilecharging high-pressure hydrogen, to control the hydrogen charging in thevehicle.

Pressure and temperature data in the hydrogen storage system measured bysensors in the vehicle during the hydrogen charging via the infrared(IR) communication are provided to the charging station, and as aresult, the hydrogen charging control such as controlling a chargingspeed, etc. may be performed to achieve safe hydrogen charging in thevehicle and the charging station according to a rule.

As described above, data transmission and reception are performed viathe infrared (IR) communication between the fuel cell electric vehicleand the charging station, which is defined in SAE J2601, which is acharging standard of the hydrogen charging station. In many chargingstations, according to the rule of SAE J2601, the infrared communicationwith the vehicle is currently performed. SAE J2601 is a rule forcharging hydrogen at 700 bar within about 3 minutes while preventing thetemperature of the hydrogen storage system (hydrogen tank) fromexceeding about 85° C. during the hydrogen charging of the fuel cellelectric vehicle and a rule for guaranteeing that the high-pressure hoseand the hydrogen charging nozzle of the charging station are accuratelyconnected to the vehicle and the hydrogen storage system before thehydrogen charging.

Currently, the infrared (IR) communication between the vehicle and thecharging station takes a one-way communication scheme in which data istransmitted by the vehicle and data is received by the charging station.Accordingly, an ordinary fuel cell electric vehicle is provided with aninfrared transmitter (‘first transmitter’ in FIG. 1) for datatransmission and the charging station for the hydrogen charging isprovided with an infrared receiver (‘charging station receiver’ inFIG. 1) for the data reception.

In considering the above, a system and a method for sensing a hydrogencharge state according to the present invention may be configured tosense whether the hydrogen is charged using the infrared transmitterpreviously provided in the vehicle for data communication. In thepresent invention, in addition to the infrared transmitter, which isinstalled for the data communication, an infrared receiver (which mayinclude a first receiver and a second receiver to be described later)configured to receive an infrared signal reflected from the fuel doorand the hydrogen charging nozzle may be additionally provided in thevehicle.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will bedescribed in more detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is ablock diagram illustrating a configuration of a system for sensing ahydrogen charge state according to an exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention and FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating infrared-raytransmitting and receiving states in a system and a method for sensing ahydrogen charge state according to an exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention. FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a method forsensing a hydrogen charge state according to an exemplary embodiment ofthe present invention and FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating installationstates of an infrared transmission unit and an infrared reception unitin a system for sensing a hydrogen charge state according to anexemplary embodiment of the present invention.

First, the system for sensing a hydrogen charge state according to thepresent invention may include an infrared transmission unit 20 aconfigured to selectively transmit a fuel door sensing infrared signalto sense whether a fuel door 1 installed in a vehicle is open whilecharging hydrogen and a nozzle sensing infrared signal to sense acharging station-side hydrogen charging nozzle (not illustrated)connected to a hydrogen charging inlet of the vehicle and an infraredreception unit 20 b installed in the vehicle and configured to receiveinfrared signals transmitted from the infrared transmission unit 20 aand thereafter, reflected on a hydrogen charging nozzle (hereinafter,abbreviated as a ‘nozzle’) connected to the fuel door 1 and the hydrogencharging inlet.

In particular, the fuel door sensing infrared signal transmitted by theinfrared transmission unit 20 a may be transmitted to sense anddetermine a state of the fuel door and may be reflected only in the fueldoor 1 closed to cover the hydrogen charging inlet 2. When the fuel door1 is opened, the fuel door sensing infrared signal may not reach thefuel door 1 (reflection is impossible) or even though the fuel doorsensing infrared signal reaches the fuel door 1 and is reflected on thefuel door 1, the reflected signal may not reach the infrared receptionunit 20 b.

When the nozzle is not connected to the hydrogen charging inlet 2, thenozzle sensing infrared signal transmitted by the infrared transmissionunit 20 a may not reach the nozzle, and as a result, the nozzle sensinginfrared signal may not be reflected on the nozzle and the nozzlesensing infrared signal may not be received by the infrared receptionunit 20 b. The hydrogen charge state sensing system according to thepresent invention may further include a controller 10 configured toexecute driving and output of the infrared transmission unit 20 a anddetermine whether the vehicle is currently charged with hydrogen basedon the infrared signal received by the infrared reception unit 20 b.

In the present invention, the infrared transmission unit 20 a, which isprovided to output two types of distinguished infrared signals, that is,the fuel door sensing infrared signal and the nozzle sensing infraredsignal, may include a plurality of infrared transmitters 21 and 22having different outputs or may be one integrated infrared transmitterconfigured to output two types of divided infrared signals at differenttimes. When the infrared transmission unit 20 a includes the pluralityof infrared transmitters, the infrared transmission unit 20 a mayfurther include an infrared transmitter 21 configured to output the fueldoor sensing infrared signal and an infrared transmitter 22 configuredto output the nozzle sensing infrared signal.

Hereinafter, the infrared transmitter 21 configured to output the fueldoor sensing infrared signal will be referred to as the firsttransmitter and the infrared transmitter 22 configured to output thenozzle sensing infrared signal will be referred to as the secondtransmitter in the present invention. Even when the first transmitter 21and the second transmitter 22 are provided as described above, the twotransmitters may be operated by the controller 10 to output the infraredrays with a time difference and when one integrated infrared transmitteris provided, the output of the integrated infrared transmitter may beadjusted in which the controller 10 may be configured to alternatelyoutput two types of signals with a time difference.

It may be possible to operate the integrated infrared transmitter tooutput the two types of infrared signals classified as described above,either in software or in hardware. Since the software and a circuitconfiguration for adjusting the output of the infrared transmitter sothat one infrared transmitter alternately outputs two types of infraredsignals selectively and with a time difference is the known art, adetailed description will be omitted.

As the exemplary embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1 illustratesa configuration of an exemplary embodiment in which the infraredtransmission unit 20a includes the first transmitter 21 configured tooutput the fuel door sensing infrared signal and the second transmitter22 configured to output the nozzle sensing infrared signal. The infraredreception unit 20 b may include the plurality of infrared receivers 23and 24 configured to individually receive two types of signals reflectedand received with a time difference or may be one integrated infraredreceiver receiving two types of distinguished infrared signals with atime difference.

The infrared reception unit 20 b may be a type of sensor configured tosense a signal indicating that hydrogen is being charged and may includetwo infrared receivers 23 and 24 or may be one integrated infraredreceiver. When the infrared reception unit 20 b includes two infraredreceivers 23 and 24, one of the two receivers may be configured toreceive the fuel door sensing infrared signal returned after beingreflected on the fuel door 1 and the other one may be configured tosense the nozzle sensing infrared signal reflected and returned from thecharging station-side nozzle joined to the hydrogen charging inlet(receptacle) of the vehicle.

In the present invention, the nozzle may be disposed at the end of thehigh-pressure hose for supplying hydrogen to the vehicle to charge thehydrogen in the charging station, and may be joined to the hydrogencharging inlet of the vehicle and may be configured to inject thehydrogen supplied through the high-pressure hose into the hydrogencharging inlet of the vehicle while being joined to the hydrogencharging inlet of the vehicle.

Hereinafter, in the present invention, the infrared receiver 23configured to receive the fuel door sensing infrared signal reflected onthe fuel door 1 will be referred to as the first receiver and theinfrared receiver 24 configured to receive the nozzle sensing infraredsignal reflected on the nozzle connected to the hydrogen charging inletof the vehicle will be referred to as the second receiver. As theexemplary embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1 illustrates aconfiguration of an exemplary embodiment in which the infrared receptionunit 20 b includes the first receiver 23 receiving the fuel door sensinginfrared signal and the second receiver 24 receiving the nozzle sensinginfrared signal.

Although not illustrated in the drawings, in the fuel cell electricvehicle, since the first and second transmitters 21 and 22 and the firstand second receivers 23 and 24 need to be able to transmit the infraredrays with respect to the fuel door 1 of the vehicle and the chargingstation-side nozzle joined to the hydrogen charging inlet of the vehicleand receive the infrared ray reflected therefrom, both the first andsecond transmitters 21 and 22 and the first and second receivers 23 and24 may be installed in the vicinity of the hydrogen charging inlet ofthe vehicle.

In particular, although not illustrated in the drawing, the firsttransmitter 21 may be at a position to transmit the infrared rays towardthe closed fuel door 1 even in the vicinity of the hydrogen charginginlet and the first receiver 23 may be disposed at a position to receivethe infrared rays reflected on the closed fuel door 1. Since thehydrogen charging inlet 2 is not allowed to be exposed by covering thehydrogen charging inlet 2 when the fuel door 1 is closed, the infraredtransmission unit 20 a and the infrared reception unit 20 b may bepositioned in the vicinity of (e.g., proximate to) the hydrogen charginginlet 2 inward the closed fuel door when the fuel door 1 is closed.

Meanwhile, in the exemplary embodiment of the present invention, thefirst transmitter 21 may be a known infrared transmitter mounted withinthe vehicle for data communication between the fuel cell electricvehicle and the charging station. In other words, the first transmitter21 may be a known infrared transmitter configured to transmit theinfrared signal for the data communication toward the chargingstation-side infrared receiver 31 (hereinafter, referred to as a‘charging station receiver’) in the vehicle and in this case, theinfrared signal transmitted by the first transmitter 21 becomes the fueldoor sensing infrared signal for sensing the state of the fuel door 1for data communication with the charging station side.

As described above, the first transmitter 21 may be an infraredtransmitter for both data communication (i.e., infrared communication)and fuel door sensing in the fuel cell electric vehicle. In the presentinvention, the infrared transmitter for the data communication,installed in the fuel cell electric vehicle may also be used as the fueldoor sensing infrared transmitter for sensing the state of the fuel door1, that is, the first transmitter 21 to achieve communication andintegration of the infrared transmitter, and the reduction in number ofcomponents.

FIG. 1 illustrates a configuration of an exemplary embodiment in whichthe first transmitter 21 is used for both the data communication (IRcommunication) and the fuel door sensing and as illustrated in thedrawing, the first transmitter 21 may be configured to transmit theinfrared signal to the charging station receiver 31 for the datacommunication In FIG. 1, the charging station receiver 31 as a receiverused only for data communication between the fuel cell electric vehicleand the charging station may be configured to receive the infraredsignal transmitted by the first transmitter 21 and may be disposed atone side of the charging station-side nozzle.

In the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 1, the first transmitter 21 may be atransmitter configured to transmit the fuel door sensing infrared signalfor sensing the state of the fuel door 1, but since an output signal ofthe first transmitter 21 is also the infrared signal for the datacommunication, the first transmitter 21 may be one that meets aspecification of the existing infrared transmitter for the datacommunication (e.g., IR communication). For example, the firsttransmitter 21 may be an infrared transmitter for the data communicationof the fuel cell electric vehicle capable of outputting the infraredsignal at a frequency of 38 kHz as specified in SAE J2799.

In particular, since the first receiver 23 needs to separately receivethe infrared signal returned after being reflected on the fuel door 1 inthe closed state after being transmitted from the first transmitter 21,a receiver configured to receive the infrared signal at 38 kHz frequencymay be used. Since a known infrared transmitter used for the datacommunication (IR communication) in the fuel cell electric vehicle, suchas the first transmitter 21, is configured to output an infrared rayhaving a strong light intensity, and in particular, output an infraredray having a strong intensity based on a minimum protocol intensitycriterion, the fuel door 1 of the vehicle located farther than thenozzle may be sensed.

Accordingly, the first transmitter 21 for sensing the fuel door may bethe infrared transmitter used for the data communication in the fuelcell electric vehicle and in the present invention, a separate infraredtransmitter, which reduces the intensity of the light, that is, thesecond transmitter 22 in which the intensity of the output infrared rayis reduced may be installed and used for nozzle sensing. As describedabove, the second transmitter 22 may be configured to transmit aninfrared signal having a lower intensity than the first transmitter 21and for example, may be configured to transmit an infrared signal in therange of a frequency of about 100 to 200 kHz and in particular, theinfrared signal may have a duty ratio of about 50%.

The second receiver 24 may be configured to separately receive infraredsignals returned after being reflected on the nozzle after beingtransmitted from the second transmitter 22 and for example, may includea receiver configured to receive an infrared signal in the frequencyrange of about 100 to 200 kHz and having the duty ratio of about 50%.The first transmitter 21 may be an infrared transmitter which isoperated by receiving a higher current than the second transmitter 22 tooutput the light having a stronger intensity than light from the secondtransmitter 22. For example, the first transmitter 21 may be atransmitter configured to operate at driving current within about 100mA, and the second transmitter 22 may be a transmitter configured tooperate at driving current within about 20 mA.

In the present invention, the specific specifications of the transmitterand the receiver are illustrative and the present invention is notlimited thereto. The first transmitter 21 and the first receiver 23 maybe configured to transmit and receive the fuel door sensing infraredsignal capable of sensing the state of the fuel door 1 and furthermore,as long as the first transmitter 21 and the first receiver 23 are ableto transmit and receive the infrared signal for the data communication,the first transmitter 21 and the first receiver 23 are not particularlylimited in the frequency, the duty ratio, or the driving current.

Further, as long as the second transmitter 22 and the second receiver 24are capable of transmitting and receiving the nozzle sensing infraredsignal for sensing the nozzle connected to the hydrogen charging inletof the vehicle, the second transmitter 22 and the second receiver 24 arenot particularly limited in the frequency, the duty ratio, or thedriving current. However, the first transmitter 21 and the firstreceiver 23 may have a smaller specification of an infrared outputfrequency, may have a greater specification of an infrared outputintensity, or may have a greater specification of driving current forthe operation than the second transmitter 22 and the second receiver 24.

Referring to FIG. 4, the infrared transmission unit 20 a and theinfrared reception unit 20 b may be installed close to the vicinity ofthe hydrogen charging inlet 2 (e.g., may be proximate to or abutting).As described above, the infrared transmission unit 20 a may include twoinfrared transmitters (that is, the first transmitter and the secondtransmitter), but may have only one integrated infrared transmitter.Similarly, the infrared reception unit 20 b may have two infraredreceivers (that is, the first receiver and the second receiver), but mayhave only one integrated infrared receiver.

In the present invention, the fuel door 1 may be disposed to cover thehydrogen charging inlet (receptacle) 2 in the vehicle. To charge thehydrogen, the fuel door 1 covering the hydrogen charging inlet 2 may beopened to expose the hydrogen charging inlet, but when the hydrogencharging is complete, the fuel door 1 may be closed to conceal thehydrogen charging inlet 2. In particular, since a detailed structure andconfiguration of the fuel door 1, the hydrogen charging inlet 2, and thecharging station-side nozzle of the fuel cell electric vehicle, and aconnection or fastening structure between the hydrogen charging inletand the nozzle are known technical matters, the detailed descriptionthereof will be omitted.

Meanwhile, in the present invention, the infrared signal for the fueldoor sensing and the data communication output from the firsttransmitter 21 needs to be a signal that may be distinguished from theinfrared signal for the nozzle sensing output from the secondtransmitter 22. The controller 10 may be configured to distinguishwhether the infrared signals which the controller 10 receives throughthe first receiver 23 and the second receiver 24 are output from thefirst transmitter 21 or from the second transmitter 22.

Accordingly, the infrared signal for sensing the fuel door and theinfrared signal for sensing the nozzle may be completely differentinfrared signals in terms of the frequency and the duty ratio. Inaddition, the controller 10 may be configured to operate the firsttransmitter 21 and the second transmitter 22 to output respectiveinfrared signals at different times. In other words, the controller 10may be configured to adjust operation timings of the first transmitter21 and the second transmitter 22 or adjust both the operation timings ofthe first receiver 23 and the second receiver 24 together with thetransmitters 21 and 22 to prevent signal interference in transmissionand reception with a time difference in transmitting and receiving twotypes of infrared signals.

In an exemplary embodiment, the first transmitter 21 and the firstreceiver 23 are common and combined transmitter and receiver for boththe fuel door sensing and the data communication and during normal datacommunication, a communication interval (infrared transmission andreception) and a non-communication interval (idle period) arepredetermined and temporally distinguished. Therefore, the controller 10may be configured to driver or operate the first transmitter 21 and thefirst receiver 23 to transmit and receive the infrared door signal forthe fuel door sensing and the data communication in the communicationinterval of the data communication. Further, the controller 10 may beconfigured to operate the second transmitter 22 and the second receiver24 to transmit and receive the infrared signal for the nozzle sensingduring the non-communication interval, which is the idle period of thedata communication.

FIG. 2 illustrates timing control states of transmitter and receiveroperations in the present invention and is a diagram illustratinginfrared transmission and reception states. As illustrated, the firsttransmitter 21 may be configured to transmit infrared signals for thefuel door sensing and the data communication in a predetermined period,for example, a period of about 100 ms, for the data communication, thatis, the IR communication and the fuel door sensing detection and inparticular, the first transmitter 21 may be configured to transmit theinfrared signal for a time within about 30 ms of 100 ms. Simultaneously,the first receiver 23 may be configured to receive the infrared signaloutput from the first transmitter 21 and the controller 10 may beconfigured to operate the first receiver 23 to receive the signal basedon the time interval during which the first transmitter 21 outputsinfrared rays (the first receiver is ‘On’).

A remaining time excluding the 30 ms of the 100 ms is a communicationidle period during which the first transmitter 21 does not output theinfrared signal for the data communication and the fuel door sensing andthe controller 10 may be configured to operate the second transmitter 22to output the infrared signal for the nozzle sensing during the idleperiod in the middle and operate the second receiver 24 to receive thesignal (the second receiver is ‘On’).

As described above, during the communication interval, the firstreceiver 23 may be turned on and the second receiver 24 may be turnedoff while the first transmitter 21 is operated to allow the firstreceiver 23 to receive the infrared signal and in particular, thecontroller 10 may be configured to determine the state of the fuel door1 from the infrared signal received through the first receiver 23.During the idle period which is the non-communication interval, thesecond receiver 24 may be turned on and the first receiver 23 may beturned off while the second transmitter 22 is operated to allow thesecond receiver 24 to receive the infrared signal and in particular, thecontroller 10 may be configured to determine that the nozzle is joinedfrom the infrared signal received through the second receiver 24.

As described above, the infrared signal for the fuel door sensing andthe infrared signal for the nozzle sensing may be prevented fromoverlapping, and when both infrared signals overlap, infraredcommunication connection and hydrogen charge sensing failure may occur.In the present invention, the controller 10 may be configured todetermine that the hydrogen charging is performed only when the openedstate of the fuel door 1, the entrance of the nozzle, and the connectedstate of the hydrogen charging inlet are simultaneously sensed, and as aresult, a possibility of false sensing of the hydrogen charging may beminimized.

In the exemplary embodiment, the infrared signal for the fuel doorsensing and the infrared signal for the nozzle sensing may betransmitted and received by a separate transmitter and a separatereceiver, but one integrated transmitter or one integrated receiver maybe used (e.g., the infrared transmission unit includes one receiver andthe infrared reception unit includes one receiver). In particular, theinfrared signal for the fuel door sensing and the infrared signal forthe nozzle sensing may be output at a time difference from thetransmitter and the signal received through the receiver may be a signalto distinguish the state of the fuel door and the state of the nozzle inthe controller 10.

Particularly, the driving current applied to the transmitter may beoperated by software or hardware or the infrared output level andfrequency output from the transmitter may be adjusted for each timeinterval using other known output control methods. The infrared signalfor the fuel door sensing and the infrared signal for the nozzle sensingwhich are operated as above may be sequentially output from thetransmitter. For example, one transmitter (one light source) may beconfigured to selectively transmit an infrared signal in about a 38 kHzband and an infrared signal in a about 100 kHz band with a timedifference, and the integration of the components achieves reduction innumber of components and cost reduction.

When one integrated receiver is configured to sequentially transmit twotypes of controlled signals, a software filter may be applied to oneintegrated receiver so that an infrared signal of a specific receptionfrequency band is received through the receiver and in particular, itmay be possible to separately receive the two types of infrared signals,and as a result, by the integration of the receiver, the reduction ofthe number of components and the reduction of the cost may be achieved.

Meanwhile, referring to FIG. 3, a process of sensing the hydrogencharging according to the present invention will be described below. Theprocess as described below may be executed by an overall controller.First, the frequency and the duty ratio of the infrared signal output bythe first transmitter 21 (or the integrated transmitter) may be presetfor the fuel door sensing and the data communication and the frequencyand the duty ratio of the infrared signal output by the secondtransmitter 22 (alternatively, the integrated transmitter) for thenozzle sensing may be preset.

A first frequency range and a first duty ratio range for determining thestate of the fuel door may be set and a second frequency range and asecond duty ratio range for determining the entrance and the connectionstate of the nozzle may be set. In particular, the first frequency rangemay be defined as a range including the frequency of the infrared signalfor the fuel door sensing output from the first transmitter 21 and maybe defined as, for example, a range between ‘the frequency of theinfrared signal for the fuel door sensing +α1’ and ‘the frequency of theinfrared signal for the fuel door sensing +α2’ (α1 and α2 are equal toor different from each other, e.g., α1=α2=2 kHz).

Similarly, the second frequency range may be defined as a rangeincluding the frequency of the infrared signal for the nozzle sensingoutput by the second transmitter 22 and may be defined as, for example,a range between ‘the frequency of the infrared signal for the nozzlesensing +α3’ and ‘the frequency of the infrared signal for the nozzlesensing +α4’ (α3 and α4 are equal to or different from each other, e.g.,α3=α4=2 kHz).

Similarly, the first duty ratio range may be defined as a rangeincluding the duty ratio of the infrared signal for the fuel doorsensing outputted from the first transmitter 21 and may be defined as,for example, a range between ‘the duty ratio of the infrared signal forthe fuel door sensing +β1’ and ‘the frequency of the infrared signal forthe fuel door sensing +β2’ and (β1 and β2 are equal to or different fromeach other, e.g., β1=β2=5%).

Similarly, the second duty ratio range may be defined as a rangeincluding the duty ratio of the infrared signal for the nozzle sensingoutputted from the second transmitter 22 and may be defined as, forexample, a range between ‘the duty ratio of the infrared signal for thenozzle sensing +β3’ and ‘the frequency of the infrared signal for thenozzle sensing +β4’ (β3 and β4 are equal to or different from eachother, e.g., β3=β4=5%).

Particularly, the first transmitter 21 (or the integrated transmitter)may be operated by the controller 10 to transmit the infrared signal forthe fuel door sensing and the data communication having a predeterminedfrequency band and a predetermined duty ratio (S1) and the firstreceiver 23 (or the integrated receiver) may be operated by thecontroller 10 to receive the infrared signal transmitted from the firsttransmitter 21. In particular, when the frequency and the duty of theinfrared signal received through the first receiver 23 satisfy a firstcondition that the first frequency range and the duty ratio are withinthe first frequency range and the first duty ratio range, respectively,the controller 10 may be configured to determine that the fuel door 1 isclosed or when the first condition is not satisfied, the controller 10may be configured to determine that the fuel door 1 is open (S2).

When the first condition is not satisfied refers to when the firstreceiver 23 receives no infrared signal. More specifically, the firstreceiver 23 may be configured to receive the infrared signal for thefuel door sensing reflected on the fuel door 1 after being transmittedfrom the first transmitter 21 and the infrared signal for the fuel doorsensing may be reflected on the fuel door 1 in a fuel door closed statein which the fuel door 1 covers the hydrogen charging inlet 2 to preventthe hydrogen charging inlet 2 from being exposed.

However, when the fuel door 1 is opened, the infrared signal for thefuel door sensing transmitted by the first transmitter 21 may not bereflected on the fuel door 1 and in particular, the first receiver 23may not consequently receive the infrared signal (infrared signal forthe fuel door sensing) and thus, the first condition is not satisfied.When the controller 10 determines that the fuel door is opened asdescribed above, the controller 10 may be configured to operate thesecond transmitter 22 (or the integrated transmitter) to transmit theinfrared signal for the nozzle sensing having a predetermined frequencyband and a predetermined duty ratio (S3).

Subsequently, the second receiver 24 (or the integrated receiver) may beconfigured to receive the infrared signal transmitted from the secondtransmitter 22 and in particular, the controller 10 may be configured todetermine that the nozzle is connected to the hydrogen charging inlet ofthe vehicle when a second condition that the frequency and the dutyratio of the infrared signal received via the second receiver 24 arewithin the second frequency range and the second duty ratio range,respectively is satisfied (S4). When the second condition is notsatisfied may refer to when the second receiver 24 receives no infraredsignal. More specifically, the second receiver 24 may be configured toreceive the infrared signal for the nozzle sensing reflected on thenozzle after being transmitted from the second transmitter 22 and whenthe nozzle is connected to the hydrogen charging inlet 2, the infraredsignal for the nozzle sensing may be reflected on the nozzle.

However, when the nozzle is separated from the hydrogen charging inlet(e.g., disposed at a distance from the inlet), the infrared signal forthe nozzle sensing transmitted by the second transmitter 22 may not bereflected on the nozzle and in particularly, the second receiver 24 maynot consequently receive the infrared signal (infrared signal for thenozzle sensing) and thus, the second condition is not satisfied. Afterboth the opening of the fuel door 1 and the nozzle connection are sensedas described above, the controller 10 may be configured to determinethat the vehicle is being charged with the hydrogen to start thestarting restriction (S5). When the hydrogen charging is complete andthe nozzle connection or the fuel door opening is not sensed while thestarting restriction is performed, that is, when the nozzle isdisconnected or the fuel door is closed, the starting restriction may becanceled and the operation of the transmitter may be stopped to stoptransmission of the infrared signal (S6, S7, and S8).

The process illustrated in the flowchart of FIG. 3 is exemplary and thepresent invention is not limited thereto, and the order of someprocesses may be appropriately changed. For example, in response todetermining in the flowchart of FIG. 3 that the fuel door is opened, theinfrared signal for the nozzle sensing may be transmitted by the secondtransmitter 22, but the infrared signal for the nozzle sensing may betransmitted by the second transmitter 22 and thereafter, the controller10 may be configured to determine the open state of the fuel door. As aresult, the system and the method for sensing a hydrogen charge state ofa fuel cell electric vehicle according to the present invention may moreaccurately sense that hydrogen is actually charged in the fuel cellelectric vehicle and prevent a safety problem due to rushing of avehicle while charging high-pressure hydrogen.

According to the present invention, since a non-contact type sensingscheme using light is used, an exposition proof criterion may befulfilled and an explosion proof related problem in charging thehigh-pressure hydrogen is easily solved. In other words, it may bepossible to implement non-contact type fuel door opening and nozzlesensing functions for transmitting infrared rays and detecting whetherhydrogen is charged from the received infrared rays. Therefore, sparkgeneration which occurs due to the contact when the contact type sensingsystem in the related art is used, and the resulting hydrogen ignitionand a risk of explosion may be prevented.

However, in the related art, only an opening state of a fuel door iscapable of being sensed by a contact type, but in the present invention,since a hydrogen charging nozzle (a charging station-side nozzle)actually connected to a hydrogen charging inlet (receptacle) of avehicle for charging hydrogen is sensed in addition to the fuel door, itmay be possible to prevent a detection error when applying thenon-contact type sensing scheme.

Since both the fuel door and the nozzle are sensed, it may be possibleto prevent starting and rushing of the vehicle when the nozzle of thecharging station is actually connected to the vehicle for hydrogencharging, not when only the fuel door is opened and it may be possibleto prevent a malfunction and an unnecessary starting limitation of thevehicle as compared with a simple configuration of sensing only openingof the fuel door. In other words, only when the hydrogen is actuallycharged while the nozzle of the charging station is connected to thevehicle, the starting of the vehicle may be limited and the rushing ofthe vehicle may be prevented.

The invention has been described in detail with reference to exemplaryembodiments thereof. However, it will be appreciated by those skilled inthe art that changes may be made in these exemplary embodiments withoutdeparting from the principles and spirit of the invention, the scope ofwhich is defined in the appended claims and their equivalents.

1.-10. (canceled)
 11. A method for sensing a hydrogen charge state of afuel cell electric vehicle, =comprising: receiving, by a controller, afuel door sensing infrared signal for sensing a fuel door opened whilecharging hydrogen from an infrared transmission unit; receiving, by thecontroller, a nozzle sensing infrared signal for sensing a chargingstation-side hydrogen charging nozzle connected to a hydrogen charginginlet of a vehicle the infrared transmission unit; receiving, by thecontroller, an infrared signal from an infrared reception unit; anddetermining, by a controller, that the vehicle is being charged withhydrogen in response to sensing an open state of the fuel door and ahydrogen charging inlet connection state of the hydrogen charging nozzlebased on the infrared signal received by the infrared reception unit.12. The method of claim 11, wherein the fuel door sensing infraredsignal and the nozzle sensing infrared signal are signals havingdifferent frequency bands.
 13. The method of claim 11, wherein the fueldoor sensing infrared signal and the nozzle sensing infrared signal aresignals having different frequency bands and duty ratios.
 14. The methodof claim 11, wherein the infrared transmission unit sequentiallytransmits the fuel door sensing infrared signal and the nozzle sensinginfrared signal with a time difference.
 15. The method of claim 11,wherein the infrared transmission unit includes: a first transmitterconfigured to transmit the fuel door sensing infrared signal, and asecond transmitter configured to transmit the nozzle sensing infraredsignal.
 16. The method of claim 15, wherein the first transmitter is acommunication infrared transmitter configured to transmit an infraredsignal to a charging station-side infrared receiver and configured toperform data communication between the fuel cell electric vehicle and acharging station.
 17. The method of claim 11, wherein the infraredreception unit includes: a first receiver configured to receive the fueldoor sensing infrared signal transmitted from the infrared transmissionunit and thereafter, reflected on the fuel door, and a second receiverconfigured to receive the nozzle sensing infrared signal transmittedfrom the infrared transmission unit and thereafter, reflected on thehydrogen charging nozzle.
 18. The method of claim 11, wherein theinfrared transmission unit includes a communication infrared transmitterconfigured to transmit the infrared signal to the charging station-sideinfrared receiver and configured to perform the data communicationbetween the fuel cell electric vehicle and the charging station.
 19. Themethod of claim 11, wherein the controller is configured to compare afrequency and a duty ratio of the infrared signal received through theinfrared reception unit with a first frequency range and a first dutyratio range which are set and when a first condition that thecorresponding frequency and duty ratio are within the first frequencyrange and the first duty ratio range, respectively is satisfied, thecontroller is configured to sense that the fuel door is closed and whenthe first condition is not satisfied, the controller is configured tosense that the fuel door is opened.
 20. The method of claim 11, whereinthe controller is configured to compare the frequency and the duty ratioof the infrared signal received through the infrared reception unit witha second frequency range and a second duty ratio range which are set andwhen a second condition that the corresponding frequency and duty ratioare within the second frequency range and the second duty ratio range,respectively is satisfied, the controller is configured to sense thatthe hydrogen charging nozzle is connected to the hydrogen charginginlet.